Jonáš Záborský Theatre in Prešov

Jonáš Záborsky Theatre in Prešov, situated close to Matica slovenská, was founded shortly after the demise of the Slovenské ľudové divadlo (Slovak Folk Theatre) in 1941 under the name Slovak Theatre in Prešov. The initiators of the theatre were Slovak Radio manager Anton Prídavok, Matica Slovenská president Alfonz Zauner, business college professor František Rella, architect and scenographer Martin Brezina.

The theatre began operating in 1944 in the renovated Municipal Theatre building (Historic Building). In 1954 it was renamed after noteworthy and controversial Slovak dramatist, historian and priest Jonáš Záborsky. Jonáš Záborsky Theatre (hereinafter referred to as DJZ) originally focused on drama, musical theatre and opera performances, which led to the development of separate drama and opera ensembles, the latter incorporating a small ballet troupe.

By the 1970s the popularity of its regular presentations of premiere Slovak theatre led DJZ to focus on producing dramas. The drama and opera sections of DJZ merged into a single artistic unit in July 2005.

In 1990 the theatre moved from the Historic Building into the so-called New Building of the DJZ. Since 2002 DJZ has again performed in the reconstructed Historic Building of the DJZ, which is very popular with audiences.

Throughout its existence DJZ has performed a total of 730 premiere shows. It has proved its high artistic standards not only in domestic but also in foreign performances in many European countries.

Recently DJZ has presented three new plays: the premiere of a musical František z Assisi (Francis of Assisi) by Martin Kákoš and Gabo Dušík, the comedy Ženba by Nikolaj Vasiljevitch Gogol, directed by Svetozar Sprušanský, and the Hungarian tragicomedy Mačacia hra (Cat's Game) by István Örkénya, directed by Michael Náhlík.

Jonáš Záborsky Theatre, Prešov manages two theatre auditoria - for details of these venues see Jonáš Záborský Theatre - Historic Theatre and Jonáš Záborský Theatre - New Theatre.